tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49217876277681216022017-02-08T20:52:34.272-08:00Merlock's MurmuringsA variety of topics will be discussed including sports, relationships, politics, and vacation.Merlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10079653687369399674noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921787627768121602.post-64041589521089283742016-03-17T11:12:00.002-07:002016-03-17T11:12:41.499-07:00Democratic-Republican Party<div class="MsoNormal">The Democratic-Republican Party was the second party of the United States and is considered defunct as of 1824.&nbsp; However, given the current state of affairs in the US Government, many Americans consider the current “two” parties to actually be one.&nbsp; Hence, instead of there being a Democratic Party and a Republican Party, we are actually governed by the Democratic-Republican Party.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Granted the two parties run against each other, but in the end, they both have basically the same goal.&nbsp; The goal is to create a stratified social arrangement where people in the political class have special privilege.&nbsp; The two parties push this agenda in different ways, but their end game is the same.&nbsp; People in both parties either are not concerned about the status of the country as a whole or believe that their having increased control is the best outcome for the country. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Democrats work to build this social arrangement by segmenting people and pitting each segment against either another segment, the Republicans, or the country.&nbsp; Blacks are told that this country is too racist to allow them to achieve on their own.&nbsp; Hispanics are targeted with messages that Republicans want to export them, regardless of their citizen status.&nbsp; The LGBT community is told that the country believes that they should be scorned and derided by not allowing them to have equal rights as other citizens.&nbsp; Other groups are similarly targeted.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Republicans attempt to build this social arrangement in a different way.&nbsp; They campaign against issues and then “cave” to Democrats once they are in office. &nbsp;They campaign against illegal immigration, but then take no action once in government. &nbsp;This provides a significant underclass of uneducated workers which provides cheap labor but primarily seeds the creation of a classed society in the United States.&nbsp; They campaign about reducing the size of government, but then push forward government expansion measures under the guise of national security.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Both parties rail against corporate welfare, however, that is where their power really lies.&nbsp; The ability of the federal government to provide favors or exemptions to restrictive laws and regulations is the ultimate power that they crave.&nbsp; They’ll even couch this ability as nuance that is needed.&nbsp; Of course, this nuance can only be applied correctly by the best and brightest in our country.&nbsp; Whether it be restrictive water regulations or particular tax exceptions, the political class gains personally and financially by being able to judiciously give their blessings. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Along the way, these two parties have implemented restrictions at every political level to make it harder for a non-establishment party to gain political power.&nbsp; To run as a Democratic or Republican candidate requires satisfying one set of rules, but to run as an independent or other non-establishment party requires jumping over even higher hurdles.&nbsp; So while the parties talk as if they are opposition, they have worked collusively for many years to work towards their shared goal.<o:p></o:p></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Current evidence of this attitude in the Republican Party can be found in the discussions regarding the potential of a Trump candidacy.&nbsp; The party is actively discussing and acting in ways to create a situation where the party can “rescue” the nomination process.&nbsp; It’s telling that the party has become so arrogant that these discussions are no longer ‘back-room’ discussions.&nbsp; They are more concerned about losing control of their party than losing to their partners (the Democrats).&nbsp; With their stranglehold on political competition intact, they are comfortable openly showing this contempt.<o:p></o:p></div>Merlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10079653687369399674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921787627768121602.post-63780454888946261632016-03-09T11:30:00.001-08:002016-03-09T11:30:20.034-08:00Lord Business is the Democratic Party<div class="MsoNormal">In “<a href="http://www.lego.com/en-us/movie" target="_blank">The Lego Movie</a><span id="goog_1711098713"></span><span id="goog_1711098714"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a>”, Lord Business is frustrated because citizens are changing things away from the ‘perfect world’ that he had created.&nbsp; His response is to use the kragle (krazy glue) on Taco (“’Tentacle Arm Kragle Outside Sprayer’, or TAKOS! The S is silent”) Tuesday to freeze the citizens into the “perfect” position.&nbsp; Similarly, the Democratic Party has the same feelings towards the business world.&nbsp; <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Socialism allows businesses to exist in the market, with the caveat that government has a direct involvement in the operation of each business.&nbsp; Democrats have already pushed this approach as evidenced by their imposition of certain people on the boards of companies such as General Motors (a.k.a. Government Motors).&nbsp; This form has an added “benefit” of allowing the government to pick winners and losers, while still allowing a limited amount of new business startups by entrepreneurial individuals.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Communism allows business to exist but only with government permission.&nbsp; This system squashes all entrepreneurship with new businesses having to be either originated or approved by the government.&nbsp; The government in essence sprays the market with kragle to keep a nice tidy order to the citizenry. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Free market allows consumers to decide where to spend their money.&nbsp; Companies make decisions in order to capture market share and improve their financial situation.&nbsp; Entrepreneurs can see where existing companies are not fully satisfying a market and introduce their own product to fill that void.&nbsp; Business make good and bad decisions, succeed and fail, and come and go.&nbsp; <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The free market is annoying or worse for people who don’t like the chaos of free markets or want to control other people.&nbsp; These people will push for singular control of the market and the only entity powerful enough to do this is a government.&nbsp; The normal progression is to first move towards Socialism and then turn to Communism.&nbsp; <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Arguments will be made that businesses are not good citizens, they make bad decisions for society at large.&nbsp; Meanwhile, poor decisions by governments will be excused because, of course, government has society’s best interests at heart.&nbsp; <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Consider the framework in which a politician in a Socialist or Communist society would exist.&nbsp; The system tells them that average people are not capable or qualified to make decisions.&nbsp; Therefore, they become the decision makers for the society, determining what can or should be done.&nbsp; This dichotomy of the views of individuals would impress upon the politician that they were not of the average citizenry and thus above them.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Citizens are also required to forget that government will be populated with power hungry people.&nbsp; These people become the politicians with a disposition to have a disdain for the average citizen.&nbsp; Which then leads to the creation of two classes of people, politicians and non-politicians.&nbsp; The power hungry politicians then create different rules for the political and non-political classes.&nbsp; The rules for the non-political class (the proletariat) then becomes the kragle to keep them from upsetting the political class.<o:p></o:p></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Unfortunately, here in the United States significant numbers of people in the Democratic Party are increasing open about their opposition to free markets.&nbsp; This has become manifest in the two leading candidates for the Democratic Party nomination for President.&nbsp; Both have expressed their desire for more government control over the economic engine of this country.&nbsp; The fact that they are the only candidates left for that Party is telling as to the character of Democrats in this country.<o:p></o:p></div>Merlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10079653687369399674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921787627768121602.post-44418952747131057062014-09-15T13:52:00.001-07:002014-09-15T13:52:22.107-07:00Politics creates McCleary vs ReasonThe <a href="http://www.courts.wa.gov/appellate_trial_courts/SupremeCourt/?fa=supremecourt.McCleary_Education" target="_blank">McCleary</a>&nbsp;decision in Washington State just shows how politics can ruin what aught to be a perfectly reasonable discussion. &nbsp;The Washington State Supreme Court ruled through McCleary that the state was not upholding the "<a href="http://www.leg.wa.gov/LAWSANDAGENCYRULES/Pages/constitution.aspx" target="_blank">paramount</a>" duty of the state of providing education of all children within the state's borders. &nbsp;However, politics has not turned this into a discussion of what new spending can be made for education. &nbsp;The recent decision of the WA Supreme Court to hold the legislature in <a href="http://blogs.seattletimes.com/politicsnorthwest/2014/09/11/supreme-court-finds-legislature-in-contempt-on-education-funding/" target="_blank">contempt </a>just adds fuel to the political fire and doesn't lead us to a resolution.<br /><br />The real issue here seems to be making sure that we are <b>educating </b>the children and not on spending. &nbsp;I was recently talking to a 7th grader about her classes. &nbsp;She had been in Movie Making but decided that this class wasn't as interesting as she thought it would be, so she changed classes. &nbsp;Another student (a junior) had been enrolled in "Yoga and Walking" class for a semester but was going to drop that class in favor of study hall. &nbsp;Recently, the school session had been extended about a week because of snow, but instead of extending the educating of the students, the last week was spend watching movies in all the classes as the final exams all occurred when they had originally been scheduled.<br /><br />While Yoga and Movie Making might be enjoyable, and in some cases, educational, shouldn't classes like this be extracurricular, club, or hobby type classes and not take up valuable school time. &nbsp;In an unrelated topic, Washington State high school graduates are taking remedial math and English when starting both four and two-year colleges. &nbsp;Since more than <a href="http://www.planwashington.org/metric/need-remedial-courses-communitytechnical-colleges" target="_blank">50%</a> of students entering Community College and 33% entering four-year colleges are taking a remedial class of some sort, maybe we should stop with the Movie Making and actually <a href="http://washingtonstemeducation.org/" target="_blank">teach</a>&nbsp;the real basics (reading, writing, arithmetic, etc.).<br /><br />Soon after the initial McCleary decision, I heard people lobbying the legislature for increasing the pre-K (0-3) classes. &nbsp;Further, more classes like Movie Making have been proposed. &nbsp;Once again, let's throw money at the problem and not address the real problem. &nbsp;Democrats took the opportunity to continue their need for additional taxes, while still attacking the Charter School effort in the state.<br /><br />One interesting side effect of Obama Care may not have been factored into this discussion yet. &nbsp;With Obama Care, we've effectively ruled that people are children until they are 26 years old. &nbsp;Current discussions regarding McCleary have only reached up to high school. &nbsp;So keep an eye out for Washington State deciding that we have to fully fund PhD candidates now in order to fully fund education.Merlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10079653687369399674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921787627768121602.post-55873516546428028832014-09-11T16:58:00.001-07:002014-09-11T16:58:14.827-07:00Hashtag Representation may be the Future of VotingMuch was made over the use of the BringBackOurGirls hashtag including the tweet from <a href="https://twitter.com/FLOTUS/status/464148654354628608" target="_blank">Mrs. Obama</a>. &nbsp;Reasonable is the belief that the use of the hashtag could build unity between people who cared about the issue. &nbsp;Unreasonable was the belief that anything substantial would happen because people were using the hashtag. &nbsp;This unreasonableness was demonstrated by the mocking of the hashtag by the terrorists who stole the girls.<br /><br />Diving into something which is more of the conspiracy theory type of consideration is how this type of effort could be used for other issues. &nbsp;For instance, frequently there are twitter bombs used by various organizations, spanning the political realm, to generate focus on a particular issue. &nbsp;As many people are driven by the social aspect of social media, this deluge of tweets can have an effect on this sect of the population.<br /><br />In an unrelated topic (for now), consider that a high percentage of the population consider voting to be useless. &nbsp;This feeling is substantiated either by the belief that all politicians do roughly the same thing or that their issues never succeed in the political realm. &nbsp;One can argue that political parties attempt to reduce the desire to vote in those whom are not predisposed to vote their way and therefore have been the primary driver of this type of cynicism.<br /><br />Another unrelated topic (yup, for now) is that politics is driven to a certain point by the polls and popularity. &nbsp;Not all issues are driven by this facet but those which are pursued without popular support can reek havoc upon the party driving those issues. &nbsp;A sidebar is that sometimes popular opinion can be driven by convincing enough people that an unpopular opinion really is the popular opinion and thus get that exact result.<br /><br />Now, back to the twitter world. &nbsp;Popular theory is that most of the active twitter world are political activists. &nbsp;Also, recently it has come to light that more than half of the followers of President and Mrs. Obama are fake. &nbsp;These fake accounts are owned by someone and are active. &nbsp;Having large numbers of followers is typically used to indicate how popular a person is. &nbsp;So this large number of fake followers could have been used to influence opinion.<br /><br />Now suppose we combine the twitter world and the lackadaisical voting populace. &nbsp;What if significant portion of the populace could be convinced that they were involved in the direction of government through the use of hashtags. &nbsp;Popular opinion could be "discerned" through the use of hashtags and followers of topics. &nbsp;Potentially, this belief could gain more and more "acceptance" by the population.<br /><br />So where does that leave us. &nbsp;We would have a population that believes government is influenced by social media. &nbsp;That social media would be dominated by the political activists and includes significant numbers of "fake" people. &nbsp;Instead of debating issues, activists acting through many fake accounts could generate a false impression of popularity which is accepted by significant numbers of people. &nbsp;Taking it a step further and combining the push for electronic voting as "fair, equitable, and convenient". &nbsp;We could arrive at a place where elections occur through social media.Merlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10079653687369399674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921787627768121602.post-39679573755414527862014-09-10T18:06:00.001-07:002014-09-11T14:16:28.886-07:00Cashier less registers, ATMs, and the minimum wagePresident Obama once blamed the high unemployment on the increasing use of ATMs. &nbsp;If only people were still going into the bank and having to speak to a teller, there would be more tellers and thus higher employment. &nbsp;An interesting way to look at progress ... an 18th century way of looking at progress. &nbsp;Of course, the 18th century is full of technology to which &nbsp;President Obama wants us return, but that's another blog.<br /><br />The story behind ATMs is that they provided easier access to the money in your bank account. &nbsp;They are located in many places and are open (when working) 24 hours a day. &nbsp;No longer do you have to carry lots of cash, if you need it, you can get it from the nearest ATM. &nbsp;Convenience, speed, accuracy, that sounds like progress to me.<br /><br />The current minimum wage in <a href="http://www.lni.wa.gov/WORKPLACERIGHTS/WAGES/MINIMUM/DEFAULT.ASP" target="_blank">Washington State</a> is $9.32. &nbsp;According to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (<a href="http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes412011.htm" target="_blank">BLS</a>), Washington State has the highest mean hourly wage for cashiers at $12.60 per hour. &nbsp;If the minimum wage is then raised to $15 per hour (a 62% increase), what affect would this have on the employment. <br /><br />For a restaurant, the labor costs are approximately <a href="http://www.foodservicewarehouse.com/education/restaurant-management-and-operations/how-to-control-labor-costs/c28022.aspx" target="_blank">20%</a> of the cost. &nbsp;If a restaurant retains all the same employment, this increase would increase the cost of food by 12%. &nbsp;Suddenly, the $1 menu is now the $1.12 menu which doesn't really roll off the tongue very well. &nbsp;Profit margins in the fast food industry is not terribly high and can vary, but appears to be around 6% for the West region. &nbsp;So a 12% increase in costs would remove all profit and then some, so no business would be able to stay in business without changing their either their costs or prices.<br /><br />But what about the employees. &nbsp;Suppose that you have a good employee that you've rewarded with pay increases and is not receiving $12.60 per hour. &nbsp;In order to keep the employee feeling valued, you have to create a new pay range of around &nbsp;$20 per hour. &nbsp;As for the new employee or the employee you haven't gotten around to firing yet, they get an increase to the $15 per hour.<br /><br />Suddenly, labor costs become a much bigger and recurring issue. &nbsp;With the increases in technology, the question now becomes how can you leverage technology to reduce the number of low skill minimum wage jobs. &nbsp;We've already seen, and many people are already used to, the interaction with a computer terminal. &nbsp;Asking Siri or Cortana for information and verifying that data is becoming second nature to most people. &nbsp;In fact, having to interact with a human for some tasks is seen as low tech and very, very uncool. <br /><br />I've already seen the sidewalk sign twirlers replaced by automatic sign movers. &nbsp;The question becomes how long will it take for companies to replace their cashiers with technology. &nbsp;The technology already exists, it just needs to suddenly become cost effective. &nbsp;Sudden increases in labor costs make that decision much easier.Merlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10079653687369399674noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921787627768121602.post-91694364653160572402014-09-07T12:56:00.000-07:002014-09-07T12:56:02.487-07:00Brewering up an Offense at Virginia TechCoach Frank Beamer has had trouble generating a consistent offense in Blacksburg for years. &nbsp;Trying to create an offense around "mobile" or "specimen" quarterbacks hasn't resulted in the success for which we've been hoping. &nbsp;Not since Bryan Randall in 2004 has Virginia Tech committed to a quarterback who hasn't had some sort of physical exceptionalism. &nbsp;Enter transfer quarterback Michael Brewer.<br /><br />Admittedly, when watching a number of Virginia Tech football games over the last few years, I've wondered why they didn't just quick kick the ball back to the other team so that the defense or special teams could make their special magic. &nbsp;The lack of touch and consistency from Tyrod Taylor and Logan Thomas was unbearable. &nbsp;The question of whether it was the coaching or the players is tough to discern in front of a television screen. <br /><br />Tyrod Taylor seemed unwilling to put the ball into a position to require someone else to make a play. &nbsp;This attitude is probably the result of &nbsp;having undoubtedly been the best athlete on his high school team, &nbsp;However, in the years where he started at Virginia Tech and the talent around him, he never grew past that behavior. <br /><br />Logan Thomas, on the other hand, had flashes of brilliance and utter incompetence making you wonder if he was actually awake on the field. &nbsp;Logan did improve over time at Virginia Tech, but there were times that he wasn't the best quarterback on the team and shouldn't have been awarded playing time.<br /><br />Which leads me to what seems to be Coach Beamers fatal flaw. &nbsp;He has a soft spot in his heart for his mobile quarterbacks. &nbsp;During the 1999 season Michael Vick was injured. &nbsp;During his recovery, he convinced Coach to play him for a quarter in a game which was not in doubt. &nbsp;Had he not given into Michael Vick to play in this game, Vick would have been healthier in the National Championship game which may have put the trophy into the case which sits empty in the VT locker room. &nbsp;This soft spot removed both Bryan Randall and Sean Glennon from their starting positions and kept VT from using their talents to be more successful. <br /><br />This soft part of Coach's personality is also a strength of his. &nbsp;Coach recognizes that in the end football is a sport and developing people is more important than winning football games. &nbsp;The expulsion and re admittance of Marcus Vick is one great example of this commitment to the people who walk into the Virginia Tech locker room.<br /><br />With Michael Brewer, the offense seems to have a certain click to it. &nbsp;Granted, against Ohio State, Michael did throw two interceptions and coughed up the ball on the VT 15. &nbsp;He seems quick enough to get out of immediate trouble and talented enough to move the offense with his head and arm. &nbsp;Time will tell his future at Virginia Tech and if Coach Beamer commits to this type of quarterback. Merlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10079653687369399674noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921787627768121602.post-23676193008120017722013-11-22T20:13:00.000-08:002013-11-22T20:13:45.382-08:00ACC Wheel of Destiny is still spinningOne of my family's favorite parts of College Football Final is the ACC Wheel of Destiny. &nbsp;When the wheel spins, who knows what will happen in the ACC. &nbsp;Can Duke withstand the wheel? &nbsp;Would Miami really have withstood VT and Duke without the wheel spinning? &nbsp;Only the 'Noles have withstood the wheel this season ... or have they?<br /><br />With a couple weeks left, there still a chance that the Coastal Division could have a five way tie. &nbsp;UNC and Duke play in the last week of the season. &nbsp;So assuming Duke gets past Wake Forest, VT beats UVa, Miami beats UVa and Pitt, the season could come down to the UNC - Duke game. &nbsp;The Victory Bell could be ringing for Duke or ... VT.<br /><br />If all this holds and there is a five way tie for the Coastal Division, Virginia Tech would get the tie-breaker. &nbsp;The tie break is the record between the tied teams. &nbsp;Duke, GT and Miami would all be 2-2, with UNC being 1-3. &nbsp;That leaves Virginia Tech with wins against GT, Miami, and UNC.<br /><br />So that's the Wheel when it comes to the Coastal division. &nbsp;Given the way the season has worked out, a five way tie is the only way the season could end up. &nbsp;Of course, Miami could lose one of those games, which would then give VT a 2-1 record, Duke a 1-2 record, and GT a 2-1 record. &nbsp;Here, VT beat GT so, once again VT wins the division. <br /><br />For completeness, if Duke wins out, they win the division. &nbsp;GT wins the division if, Duke loses both games, VT loses to UVa and Miami loses to UVa or Pittsburgh. &nbsp;No scenario give the division to UNC (GT beat both UNC and Duke, lost to VT and Miami). &nbsp;Miami can win the division if they win out, VT loses to UVa, and Duke loses to either Wake Forest or UNC.<br /><br />But, this is the ACC, where the Wheel is king! &nbsp;So, how does the wheel spin onto FSU? &nbsp;Simple, VT wins the Coastal division. &nbsp;The Hokies are the best matchup to FSU in the ACC (assuming they show up). &nbsp;FSU has already beaten Miami (nobody wants to see that again). &nbsp;GT is good, but they aren't able to keep up with FSU. &nbsp;Duke is in a renaissance, but they couldn't convert a third down against VT, enough said.<br /><br />If Virginia Tech shows up and plays the way that they can, like they did against Miami, then they would give FSU a good game. &nbsp;Virginia Tech's offense is the key, if they can score points, the defense will take care of business. &nbsp;VT's special teams have been "special" this year which gives an edge back to FSU. &nbsp;However, what are we really talking about? &nbsp;We're spinning the wheel, the ACC wheel of DESTINY! &nbsp;The wheel has sense of reality, point spreads, or history, the wheel spreads chaos. &nbsp;There's no chaos like FSU losing in the ACC Championship game this year. &nbsp;Again, enough said.Merlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10079653687369399674noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921787627768121602.post-81204670666323236542013-11-19T19:04:00.004-08:002013-11-19T19:08:08.340-08:00NASCAR : future or yawnOkay, so I'm really uninspired by Jimmy Johnson. &nbsp;Sure, he's a good driver, just about driver says so. &nbsp;He seems like a nice guy, which even for someone in his circumstances isn't a guarantee (ref a Busch brother, etc). &nbsp;But he does drive a Chevy and France Jr likes him, so he's got an advantage that's, oh let's say, unquantifiable.<br /><br />Can we talk? &nbsp;Let's face it. &nbsp;I'm a Ford guy. &nbsp;I drive a Mustang. &nbsp;I've owned a Ranger and two EXPs. &nbsp;(Let's just say, Ford should have kept making the EXP. &nbsp;It's a two-seater Escort. &nbsp;I was getting 40 miles a gallon in a car back in 1988. &nbsp;Take that all Prius fans!) &nbsp;Also, I'm a Richard Petty fan. &nbsp;He's about the only guy I've every really pulled for. &nbsp;Petty didn't drive a Ford, but he wasn't a "chosen one" by France either.<br /><br />So nothing in my NASCAR cred would lend me to pull for JJ. &nbsp;I guess if I really thought that having yet another guaranteed champion would ensure NASCARs success, then I'd have to be a JJ fan. &nbsp;Well, I never bought into the JG spiel, so don't think I'm into JJ. &nbsp;In fact, everyone knows that a surety on decreasing audience share is to have a repeat, repeat, repeat champion. &nbsp;So, let's face it, JJ winning doesn't help NASCAR.<br /><br />Having been watching NASCAR races for the better part of over 40 years, I can't tell you when I have cared less for watching the races. &nbsp;You know who is going to win. &nbsp;One of Busch, Harvick, Johnson, Gordon is almost assured of winning. &nbsp;I want the time back in my life that I spent watching the last Texas race because I thought Roush might win one. &nbsp;Homestead would have been fun to watch except that after watching the first 50-60 laps, I got tired of hearing how JJ was going to win the whole thing and most likely win the race too.<br /><br />So what could change to help NASCAR? &nbsp;Stop penalizing the drivers for not expressing complete confidence in NASCAR, a ill word towards a reporter, or, gasp, an angry word at another driver. &nbsp;I miss drivers with personality. &nbsp;Oddly enough, I've become a Tony Stewart fan simply because he's not the cookie cutter driver. &nbsp;There was a commercial a few years ago about Kenseth robots (I think it was Kenseth). &nbsp;Well, that seems like most drivers. &nbsp;Check out an interview with Ward Burton, classic gold. &nbsp;Even Earnhardt was afraid to hit Jimmy Spencer, but if you didn't cross him, you didn't have to worry about it.<br /><br />Seems like a Busch brother can drive around the track wrecking anyone, but if you appear to be the cause of them wrecking, it's off to the NASCAR official tent for you. &nbsp;I'm not looking for a bunch of wrecks, I spent my childhood defending the sport and decrying the supposed love of wrecks. &nbsp;In fact, I won't even watch Daytona or Talladega because all they are is a big wait for a wreck.<br /><br />Still think France (doesn't matter what the suffix is) doesn't play favorites. &nbsp;Check out Bill Elliott's career. &nbsp;The guy won when no other Ford's could win, so what did NASCAR do? &nbsp;Changed the template on the Ford to make the Chevy's more competitive. &nbsp;A travesty was the way NASCAR fought to get JG his Winston million. <br /><br />What do I think France X will do? &nbsp;I think he'll try to buy more of the speedways. &nbsp;Owning 33% of the tracks and the series isn't enough control for him. &nbsp;Oh well! &nbsp;I guess if I wasn't yawning over the last season, I could figure out a way to end this blog more interestingly.Merlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10079653687369399674noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921787627768121602.post-4325490569608723652013-11-11T17:31:00.004-08:002013-11-11T17:31:30.409-08:00No Tea for the Republican PartyAh yes, once again, it's election time and the Republican party is mad at the Tea Party again. &nbsp;Those silly people think that they can field their candidates and just expect us to help them. &nbsp;If that last sentence made you wonder which party I was intending in either part of the sentence, I think you actually understand.<br /><br />For those of you only watching the network news (can't really call them mainstream as they aren't), the Tea in Tea Party stands for Taxed Enough Already. &nbsp;Continuing to talk to these network news watchers, the Tea Party consists of the most diverse cross section of people that exists in politics. <br /><br />The allure of the Tea Party is partially the simplicity of it. &nbsp;They believe that government should operate within the revenue that it already has before adding more taxes onto it. &nbsp;A secondary goal would be to reduce the amount of money that is required to keep government running, ah, if only. &nbsp;The simplicity of this argument goes across all demographics. &nbsp;You don't have to be rich or poor, gay or straight, black or white, Republican or Democrat to benefit from smaller government.<br /><br />So when the Tea Party started to get movement, people in the Republican party wanted to leverage what the Tea party was doing. &nbsp;I was in a couple meetings where the attitude was 'hey, they're great, if only they'd do the work for us'. &nbsp;That's kind of like, noticing that your neighbor is good at making their mortgage payments, so why not try to convince them to make yours too.<br /><br />So the established party and candidates tried to get the Tea Party to do what they wanted, irrespective of understanding what they were about. &nbsp;Shocker, the Tea Party figured out that they could sponsor and run candidates in elections too. &nbsp;The Republicans then think that they have been stabbed in the back.<br /><br />I supposed if they wanted to, the Tea Party could run candidates in the Democrat primaries. Merlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10079653687369399674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921787627768121602.post-57272585342319435662013-11-11T17:29:00.002-08:002013-11-11T17:29:43.824-08:00Microsoft makes me long for paper!I've enjoyed my run with Microsoft Outlook. &nbsp;I maintain my contacts happily in Outlook. &nbsp;I had found it to be a great place to put information about my accounts, including login and other account information. &nbsp;Then once I could sync it to my phone, it got even better. &nbsp;However, I guess those times are over.<br /><br />Years (I mean many years) ago, I used to have an electronic organizer. &nbsp;Okay, I went through a couple electronic organizers, the next one more cool than the last. &nbsp;First, there was the one that could dial a number for you into a phone. &nbsp;So when at the airport using a payphone (oh geez, if I have to explain this ...), I could have the organizer auto dial the number for AT&amp;T, then the number I wanted to call, and finally my account number for the billing. &nbsp;This tool helped when the cyber thieves actually watched to see what numbers you pressed on the keypad (am I really this old?).<br /><br />I went from there to a Casio organizer which had a spreadsheet function in it. &nbsp;So I could keep all my information in there. &nbsp;Next stop was the Palm 3c which allowed me to edit my information using my computer. &nbsp;All this seemed so unnecessary once I was able to leverage Outlook and get the information synced onto my phone. &nbsp;I've found this to be a convenient place to keep information like family social security numbers, drivers license numbers, airline and the like membership numbers, and website login information or at least keys to remember the login information.<br /><br />Can you imagine!? &nbsp;One place to put all your information and it gets ported automatically to all the devices that need it. &nbsp;Plus, if you change the information on a device, it gets updated in Outlook and voila the other devices too.<br /><br />Or so it did. &nbsp;I was really looking forward to the Windows 7 phone. &nbsp;As chronicled in other posts, that turned out to be a big bust. &nbsp;In order to get the information from my computer to the phone, I had to sync to the Microsoft website (hotmail). &nbsp;Well, can't tell you how excited I was to think of all that information that I kept in Outlook on the web. &nbsp;So, I didn't do that.<br /><br />What I did do, was determine what phone platforms could sync to an Outlook client. &nbsp;It turns out that the Apple iPhone and Android devices could do it, but not a Windows device. &nbsp;(Last I checked Outlook was still sold by Microsoft.) &nbsp;So I went to an Android device, which I've liked much better than my Windows 7 phone.<br /><br />Now, I've purchased a Windows 8 laptop to replace my Windows 7 laptop which I thought was slowly dying. &nbsp;Fortunately, I've figured out what was wrong with my Win 7 laptop, so I'm good. &nbsp;Thankfully, because I really don't think the Win 8 platform is very user friendly. &nbsp;Now, don't get me wrong, I've been using Win 8 for about two years. &nbsp;I have a development machine which had a developer beta copy and now has dual boot to both Win 7 &amp; Win 8. &nbsp;I also have a few tablets around the house that have Win 8 on it.<br /><br />However the requirement to use a Microsoft login in order to use the laptop is just simply over the top. &nbsp;I installed 8.1 on it, and have regretted it ever since. &nbsp;The way that the apps get installed and customized is very different. &nbsp;There are also a few other issues, but the whole Microsoft login issue just riles me up. &nbsp;I created a local login, but in order to access the store I have to log into my Microsoft login and get a code sent to my cell phone EVERY TIME. &nbsp;Once, I could understand, but no, it's EVERY TIME.<br /><br />So now I have to figure out what I'm going to do with my contact information. &nbsp;I'm not about to put all that info on the web. &nbsp;I'll have to scrub my outlook as well before I can even port it over to the new laptop. &nbsp;Then it hit me, there is a solution which will keep the cyber crooks at bay. &nbsp;I can put all that information into a notebook. &nbsp;No, not a notebook computer, a notebook notebook, you know, the kind that comes from trees. &nbsp;Yeah, I think I've finally got my answer.Merlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10079653687369399674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921787627768121602.post-49598146637877123382013-11-04T15:22:00.002-08:002013-11-04T15:22:58.535-08:00How many drummers do we need?Recently, there was a discussion about how people should be free to do whatever they want and society should support this. &nbsp;My immediate thought was that if everyone gets to do whatever they want "to benefit society", you have to ask, how many drummers do we need?<br /><br />I have several friends who consider themselves to be drummers. &nbsp;While a couple are pretty good, they aren't currently good enough to generate enough of an income to even pay for their cell phone bill. &nbsp;A couple even play in bands, it's what they truly love doing. &nbsp;Of course, they have other income streams that actually pay the bills. <br /><br />Given the popularity of the 'Rock Band', 'Guitar Hero' (and DJ Hero, really?) and other similar games, it seems that there are even more of us who would really like to spend their time playing instruments for a living. &nbsp;Look at the number of people who turn out for the 'Voice' and 'Idol', plus how many other TV shows are in a similar vein. &nbsp;In addition, have you even heard some of these people who claim that singing is their passion and it sounds like nails across the blackboard!<br /><br />Lots of people want to work for certain types of organizations, sport teams, iconic organizations, for example. &nbsp;I recently worked in the wine industry and that is another industry that seems to attract people. &nbsp;However, the number of these organizations is small in the universe of companies.<br /><br />Do you really think we could get someone to WANT to man the register at the local Burger King which is next to the local high school? &nbsp;The line gets long, the kids are snarky, and the adults are annoyed (and annoying). &nbsp;I always feel sorry for the cashier when I forget and go in there around lunch time.<br /><br />We already have enough problems with 'jobs American's won't do' which basically consists of working in the fields bringing in the crops. &nbsp;Do you really think that we'd have less of a problem if only those people who WANT to do this, did it?<br /><br />No, it would be harder. &nbsp;We'd have less production of food since less people would be working there. &nbsp;Still, there are a number of people in this country that think we should move in that direction. &nbsp;Of course, if all I wanted to do was drum ....Merlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10079653687369399674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921787627768121602.post-15937602274077042792013-11-01T16:51:00.002-07:002013-11-01T16:51:52.938-07:00Obama: It's okay for me but not for you!So there are two things that are for sure when it comes to President Obama. &nbsp;He hasn't done anything wrong and President Bush (pick one) did nothing right. &nbsp;His time in the Senate gave him plenty of time to criticize the president and presidential powers. &nbsp;However, with himself as president, he's happy as a clam doing anything he wants with 'Executive Privilege'.<br /><br />My feeling is that he's one of those people who thinks that they can do well what others cannot. &nbsp;(Find a lot of these people in political office! &nbsp;My favorite is Fed Chief Bernanke who's macro economics book warns against doing just about everything he did while Fed Chairman.) &nbsp;Bush didn't care about people, Bush didn't wage war correctly, Bush didn't torture terrorists right (or was that enough). &nbsp;Ah but Sen. Obama as President would change all that. &nbsp;Countries would respect us again.<br /><br />So what happened when President Obama took office. &nbsp;Hmmm, he didn't close Guantanamo Bay and we're still in Afghanistan and Iraq. &nbsp;Seems like just about everything that he complained about Pres. Bush, he's still doing, plus some.<br /><br />Is it possible that he's got another motive? &nbsp;We know that he never really tells us what he's planning on doing. &nbsp;(He tells the SEIU and other unions when he meets with them in private, just listen to the leaked speeches.) <br /><br />My guess is simple. &nbsp;He wants to leverage all the executive power for himself, but at the same time try to implement ways of removing those 'privileges' for future presidents. &nbsp;Of course, he's smart enough to handle such power (just ask him), but no one else should be allowed such power. <br /><br />His willing accomplices in Congress (particularly the Senate) have turned a blind eye to his transgresses of Executive Power. &nbsp;I'm sure near the end of his presidency, we'll start to see a change in that attitude which will take effect only once He is gone.Merlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10079653687369399674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921787627768121602.post-69312569734216249292013-10-25T17:50:00.003-07:002013-10-26T19:23:32.937-07:00Health Care is too Expensive, Why Pay for AnythingSo ObamaCare has all kinds of problems. &nbsp;The servers aren't serving, the pricing isn't being priced, and the subsidies need subsidizing. &nbsp;So besides nobody signing up, for one reason or a multitude, it's going great! &nbsp;Except that the subsidies aren't showing up and rumors are that they are being exaggerated in the system. <br /><br />So the plans are going to be more expensive than promised, expected, or imagined by Stephen Hawking. &nbsp;Yup, people are harking that this could be the beginning of the implosion of ObamaCare. &nbsp;Maybe, possibly people will figure out that the government isn't the place to put your faith for insurance. &nbsp;(Let's not forget we're not talking about actual health care, we're talking about trying to figure out how to "insure" everyone for everything.)<br /><br />However, I had a random though flash by me like, oh, an F-22. &nbsp;It was thermally invisible, had very little radar signature when coming at me, and knocked me over like a dish in an earthquake. &nbsp;Part of the ObamaCare supporters argument is that health care is so important it's a right and, from a few corners, ... wait for it ... it should be free.<br /><br />Yup, free. &nbsp;Why not! &nbsp;It's really, really important (health insurance you know, we're still not talking about health care. &nbsp;As if having car insurance got you from place A to place B.) &nbsp;But, ah, the anti-ObamaCare people have already argued that you can't do that because how would the medical personnel get paid and you can't force people to work and not pay them for the effort. <br /><br />Hey Joe! &nbsp;Why don't you go to college for 12 years and go to work for nuthin? &nbsp;Wow! &nbsp;What an intriguing idea! &nbsp;I could spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to go to work for free! &nbsp;What could possibly go wrong with that plan!?!<br /><br />The only problem with this scenario is that Joe still has to eat (maybe I should use the name Laquisha so that I'm not racist, but too late, already used Joe and it's easier to type). &nbsp;So how does Joe eat. &nbsp;Well, we could say that if you're in the health care industry, you don't have to pay for food, gas (except that's not eco-friendly, maybe ethanol or free batteries), housing, etc. &nbsp;That'll be provided for you! &nbsp;Oh yeah, and your schooling, so no more hundreds of thousand dollars in spending for you! &nbsp;(Oh yeah, and the government would have to be in charge of making sure that all went correctly.)<br /><br />Of course, since the health care industry is around (varies depending upon the source) 16% of the country. &nbsp;Just think, if we can do all this for Joe, what about Laquisha's partner (ooh, maybe I shouldn't go there, but again too late already typed it), Chris. &nbsp;Chris (asexual name) works as an engineer for a major aerospace company. &nbsp;Once we've done it for Joe and Chris (oh, okay Laquisha too), we can just do it for everyone.<br /><br />There! &nbsp;We're done! &nbsp;Nobody has to pay for anything since it's not fair for all these important services to be restricted to people simply because they've accumulated more coin than the next sentient being who's recognized as a legal entity under the laws of this country (now you see why I went with Joe to begin with).Merlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10079653687369399674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921787627768121602.post-91209328083221768872012-05-20T13:03:00.001-07:002012-05-20T13:03:06.504-07:00Recipes for Cooking up a Good nightMy better half has suggested that I write a cook book.&nbsp; Years ago, I lived by the <a href="http://www.menshealth.com/" target="_blank">Men's Health</a> "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Man-Can-Plan-Great-Meals/dp/1579546072" target="_blank">Man, Can, and a Plan</a>".&nbsp; Nothing like a can of beans for a meal, except for those hot dogs with cheese infused into them.&nbsp; Ah yes, that brings back good memories from grad school.&nbsp; Of course if you want a vegetable, heat up a can of corn.&nbsp; That mentality was augmented by the Men's Health recipes.&nbsp; You can probably see why their menu would appeal to me.<br /><br />Since then, I've gotten a wider repertoire.&nbsp; I even took a basic French cooking class, so the meals around here are a little tastier and I balk at using a can of anything anymore.&nbsp; I still go back to my cooking roots in that most times I eat because I don't want to be hungry anymore.&nbsp; So, I like quick and easy recipes.&nbsp; That's going to be the focus of my book with some date pleasing entries as well.<br /><br />So if you've got a particular favorite, please share them with all of us here.&nbsp; Nothing elaborate unless it's a real date pleaser.&nbsp; Hopefully, we'll elevate the cooking all those future college kids!Merlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10079653687369399674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921787627768121602.post-1069355140768475122012-02-15T09:22:00.000-08:002012-02-15T09:22:17.856-08:00Soccer - World's Game?I'm not a soccer fan (football, whatever you want to call it).&nbsp; I've played and coached the sport.&nbsp; As a coach of 9 year olds, I realized that it's a great sport to wear kids out.&nbsp; As a player, I had fun, no doubt.&nbsp; (Fun team, we'd head to the karaoke bar afterwards.&nbsp; Other teams would wait for our game to get over to make sure they knew where we were going.)&nbsp; I resist the implication though, that the US is somehow inferior because soccer isn't more widely accepted.<br /><br />The media and a number of fans push the idea that we have to like the game because it is the World's Game.&nbsp; Checking the website <a href="http://www.mostpopularsports.net/" target="_blank">Most Popular Sports</a>, Soccer does rank number one in the world.&nbsp; (They try to rank sports by the number of visits to sport websites.)&nbsp; In the US, Soccer ranks number 5.&nbsp; I was surprised to see that Hockey ranked above it.&nbsp; (Cricket is leading the user poll.&nbsp; Cricket is the sport that I actually think is probably the most popular.)<br /><br />Today's <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204795304577223352691560914.html?mod=ITP_pageone_3" target="_blank">Wall St. Journal</a> has an interesting article on match-fixing in Turkey.&nbsp; In addition, 74 people were recently killed in a <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2012-02-01/egypt-soccer-violence/52918060/1" target="_blank">soccer match</a> in Egypt.&nbsp; Both of these articles reinforce my desire not to be interested in soccer.&nbsp; It's my guess that more spectators were killed at this soccer match that were killed in every other sport all over the world for all of last year.&nbsp; Over and over again fights break out at soccer matches.&nbsp; With this much violence associated with the sport, how can it be so wonderful?<br /><br />I know going to an Oakland Raider game as a fan of the opponent is dangerous.&nbsp; I went to a preseason game between Oakland and New Orleans wearing my Redskins hat and was threatened.&nbsp; I know that there are times that fights break out.&nbsp; At a USC vs Notre Dame football game in LA, I saw a couple fights and was also threatened.&nbsp; Yet, with all this poor behavior, 74 spectators didn't get killed at either NFL or college football games.&nbsp; Famously, a SF Giants fan was attacked at a Dodger game.<br /><br />People like to rag on cycling because of the news about doping.&nbsp; (I wrote a <a href="http://merlockmurmur.blogspot.com/2012/02/contador-banned-cycling-quagmire.html" target="_blank">blog </a>on this topic a few days ago.)&nbsp; With every article on cycling, they mention doping - it doesn't matter what the article is about.&nbsp; Soccer though, doesn't get the same treatment when really, it should.&nbsp;<br /><br />Soccer is a fine sport.&nbsp; I'm in favor of people supporting the sports that they like.&nbsp; I don't even mind people liking to talk about sports that they like.&nbsp; However, implying that non-fans are half-wits for not liking the sport crosses the line.Merlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10079653687369399674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921787627768121602.post-1825032541408454682012-02-14T14:35:00.000-08:002012-02-14T14:35:04.703-08:00Gas Prices and Fuel GradesGas <a href="http://gasbuddy.com/gb_retail_price_chart.aspx" target="_blank">prices </a>are on the way up again. (Although I don't hear the Pres. Bush haters blaming Pres. Obama for his corporate connections.&nbsp; I don't suppose that they are hypocritical?&nbsp; It couldn't possibly have just been political?)&nbsp;<br /><br /><br />One of the side effects of increasing gas prices is the decreasing relative price difference between the grades of fuel.&nbsp; From reviewing historical price <a href="http://205.254.135.24/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/wrgp/mogas_history.html">data</a>, in November, 1994, regular gas was $1.08, midgrade $1.17, and premium $1.27.&nbsp; On January 30, 2012, the fuel prices are regular $3.44, midgrade $3.57, and premium $3.72.&nbsp; So the difference in 1994 between regular and premium was a 17.6% increase.&nbsp; In 2012, the increase is just 8.1% increase.&nbsp; <br /><br />At some point, I started buying midgrade gas instead of regular.&nbsp; When it was $1.17, the increment for 10 gallons of gas was 90 cents.&nbsp; However, currently, the increased cost is $1.30.&nbsp; But since, I would only have been paying around $10 to fill up, another $1 seemed like a significant increase.&nbsp; Now, I'm paying around $35.70, so the increased $1.30 doesn't seem like such a big deal.&nbsp; I suppose if I were filling up once a week, that would add up to enough to take notice.<br /><br />I'm wondering though, if this behavior change occurs more than just in my car.&nbsp; Now, my car's engine is spec'ed to run just fine with regular octane, so I didn't have to make the change for that reason.&nbsp; Of course, if I could buy gas without ethanol, I'd take that trade.&nbsp; Cheaper to start, a gallon of gas would go further, and food costs would be lowered.&nbsp; Wait, is there a trade off?&nbsp; Oh yeah, I'd have to hear how environmentalists were complaining, and laugh.Merlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10079653687369399674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921787627768121602.post-7631570362947676582012-02-09T08:51:00.000-08:002012-02-09T08:51:24.335-08:00Contador Banned - Cycling QuagmireSo the latest most reported cycling new is that Alberto Contador has been <a href="http://ibnlive.in.com/news/contador-banned-stripped-of-2010-tour-title/227793-5-23.html">banned</a> from cycling for two years.&nbsp; This ban is typical of a drug ban.&nbsp; Worse judgements are possible and individual events are individually responsible for determining how it affects their results.<br /><br />This ban was, I believe, the end result of what became known as <a href="http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/puerto_complete">Operation Puerto</a> (OP).&nbsp; Interestingly enough, OP implicated athletes in just about all major sports, including athletes competing in the soccer World Cup.&nbsp; What's that?&nbsp; You haven't heard about any soccer players testing positive for drugs.&nbsp; How about Baseball?<br /><br />It seems like you can't pick up an article about cycling without the article mentioning doping in some context.&nbsp; However, they never seem to mention it with baseball.&nbsp; In contrast, remember the big regular season home run derby between Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire?&nbsp; Both of these players were later determined to have been doping.&nbsp; Jose Conseco?&nbsp; Yup, he even testified before Congress about how much juice he took.<br /><br />What's the difference between these sports and cycling?&nbsp; Cycling has the most rigorous anti-doping policy in sports.&nbsp; They've started a fingerprinting type of system to track cyclists to determine if any changes are "unusual".&nbsp; When people violate doping rules, cycling isn't bashful about making it public.<br /><br />Other sports either don't have a policy or don't implement any detection policies (i.e. don't care).&nbsp; Mr. Canseco, Mr. Sosa, Mr. McGwire, and many others didn't violate US drug laws neither did the violate baseball rules.&nbsp; Baseball didn't have any rules.&nbsp; They still don't have much.&nbsp; They implemented a token policy and a token detection policy.&nbsp;<br /><br />Does this make cycling look bad?&nbsp; Yes, mostly to the uninformed.&nbsp; I can't tell you how disappointed I was that Floyd Landis doped.&nbsp; We were huge fans.&nbsp; I'm not a Contador fan, but I sure hope he can make a reasonable defense.&nbsp; Unfortunately, if he's cleared you won't hear much about it.&nbsp; Good new just isn't as interesting to report.<br /><br />Merlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10079653687369399674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921787627768121602.post-55582248061760884452012-02-08T08:43:00.000-08:002012-02-08T08:43:42.756-08:00Pres. Obama reverses on Super PAC - duh!Wow!&nbsp; Can you believe that anyone believed that a politician running for President would eschew the potential of a Super PAC?&nbsp; Me neither.&nbsp; But apparently, some did.&nbsp; Looking at the amount of press that Pres. Obama received regarding his "reversal" on <a href="http://slatest.slate.com/posts/2012/02/07/priorities_usa_action_obama_supports_super_pac.html">Super PACs</a>, you would think that he did something unexpected.<br /><br />Don't forget that his campaign has said that they plan on raising $1 Billion (that's nine zeros).&nbsp; Also, remember how his last campaign went, with lots of other "unrelated" organizations raising lots of money and doing the heavy lifting for his campaign.<br /><br />My only comment to those who believe that he was really against these organizations is "really," very sarcastically of course.&nbsp; Naturally, my first reaction when I heard that he had reversed his "decision" (statement really) was "duh."Merlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10079653687369399674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921787627768121602.post-48238194189405868232012-02-06T15:13:00.000-08:002012-02-06T15:13:06.489-08:00Ahh the doughnut!So my better half and I have changed our eating habits.&nbsp; It isn't correct to say that we've been on a diet, because we have simply changed the way we eat.&nbsp; Overall, I've lost 30 pounds and gained around 5 back.&nbsp; So I'm pretty happy with the results, I'd prefer to lose the 5 I've gained plus another 10, but that's just gravy.&nbsp;&nbsp; Mmmmm, gravy....<br /><br />Anyway, a couple months ago, we decided to get back into the gym.&nbsp; I'm hassled by knee problems (which is why I gained the weight back), so that keeps me out of the gym for a time.&nbsp; If only I'd give up basketball, ....&nbsp; During this initial time back into the gym, and protein shakes for breakfast, I realized that I was hungry before I got of my car after leaving the gym.&nbsp; I had learned previously that if I kept from getting hungry I actually kept to my diet and lost more weight.&nbsp; So I decided to start picking up more breakfast after the gym.<br /><br />Now, a non-fat latte is a pretty good snack.&nbsp; It combines a little dairy with coffee and so I get my coffee and a little more fullness.&nbsp; But this didn't quite do it for my morning.&nbsp; That's when I realized that I could get a doughnut with my coffee.&nbsp; That really put a completeness to my morning.&nbsp; I was just fine until lunch.<br /><br />Because of the activity and the rest of my diet, it was easy enough to burn these calories during the day.&nbsp; But it was really satisfying to have that little piece of gluttony.&nbsp; I wasn't losing any more weight, but I wasn't gaining either.&nbsp; Of course, I've now dropped that part of my morning in order to restart the weight loss, but I have a wandering eye some days in the coffee shop.<br /><br />I think that little pleasures like this are important in daily life.&nbsp; That doughnut (and last weekend's wine) provide a little extra happiness.&nbsp; It's like getting a little surprise present every day.Merlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10079653687369399674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921787627768121602.post-83125405302219357592012-02-03T10:27:00.000-08:002012-02-03T10:27:49.043-08:00Susan G. Komen's Problems just StartingThe Susan G. Komen's (SGK) <a href="http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-740406?hpt=us_bn2">decision </a>to stop funding Planned Parenthood (PP) because they are under federal investigation was consistent according to their funding rules.&nbsp; Organizations are required by donors to maintain standards and Planned Parenthood fails under those standards.&nbsp; Unfortunately, they have reversed that <a href="http://www.wtsp.com/news/national/article/236308/81/Komen-to-restore-Planned-Parenthood-funding">decision</a>.&nbsp; But they didn't only reverse it, they reversed it quick and succumbed to intense pressure from this one group.<br /><br />So what does this mean?&nbsp; Frankly, expect to see SGK put under more pressure by PP and other liberal organizations to increase their funding of liberal causes.&nbsp; Because they folded so quick, they have shown that they are easily swayed and have little backbone to pressure or attempted "bad" publicity.<br /><br />Frankly, I'm no fan of SGK.&nbsp; I think that they have taken the breast cancer awareness to such a level that they have supplanted awareness of breast cancer to awareness of their organization.&nbsp; They are kind of a bully in the breast cancer arena.&nbsp; My mother is currently recovering from her latest surgery for breast cancer (second mastectomy).&nbsp; So over the last 17 years, I've been personally sensitive to breast cancer.<br /><br />I was amazed and thrilled by the original decision by SGK.&nbsp; It was the first thing that I've heard from them that made me think that they are actually concerned about issues.&nbsp; (Don't forget the medically proven <a href="http://www.abortionbreastcancer.com/index/">link </a>between abortions and breast cancer.)&nbsp; But with the reversal, I'm truly disappointed (again) in this organization.&nbsp; However, my feelings aside, I've seen over many years that aggressive groups prey upon weaker ones, and SGK just proved how weak they are.Merlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10079653687369399674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921787627768121602.post-73562811612793133362012-02-02T16:04:00.000-08:002012-02-02T16:04:57.849-08:00Facebook Follies - Dropping friendsWith the upcoming <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204879004577110780078310366.html">IPO </a>of Facebook, I've been thinking more about this particular tool.&nbsp; When I decided to run for political office, I decided to open start a separate Facebook page for that part of my life.&nbsp; Some of my friends get a little confused because they see things from "me" from both accounts.&nbsp; However, I think it's better overall because those that don't want to see items regarding my political views can just not friend me or exclude that persona from their news stream.<br /><br />I can't tell you how many of my friends that I wish would do the same thing.&nbsp; Seems like I have a number of governmentalists (my term for statists - but harder to say) like to proselytize for liberalism.&nbsp; One friend in particular seems to post constantly, and monitor everyone else's posting too (I got flamed by her once ... if only she would read first), to the point that I wonder how she can get her work done.<br /><br />Fortunately, I've found the part of Facebook to allow me to exclude them from my news feed.&nbsp; Before I found that I was seriously considering having to 'drop' these friends.&nbsp; But the question still remains, at what point do you 'drop' (unfriend) a friend.&nbsp;<br /><br />Unlike many people, or even my political account, I restrict everything to only my friends.&nbsp; Not friends of friends, so I feel mostly comfortable that information is protected.&nbsp; However, again, what would it take to unfriend.&nbsp;<br /><br />I think that the most egregious act would be to be overly aggressive to others in joined conversations.&nbsp; While I appreciate passionate people, the electronic environment is context insensitive.&nbsp; What I may write, may not be what others "hear".&nbsp; Having taught in the online forum, I've seen a lot of passionate discussions.&nbsp; I've also had numerous discussions with people on how they interpreted what was written.<br /><br />Further, by allowing one friend to be abused by another in your "home" (basically, your Facebook page), you show a lack of appreciation for the abused friend.&nbsp; Anyone can have a bad day, so caution is recommended, but in the end, if something happens on your page that you wouldn't do yourself, you have to take a remedy.&nbsp; Sometimes, the right answer is unfriending.Merlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10079653687369399674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921787627768121602.post-52023413460875632582012-02-01T11:46:00.000-08:002012-02-01T11:46:59.340-08:00Liberal Lite vs Diet PepsiIt seems that most people that I know are drinking diet drinks these days.&nbsp; This feeling isn't born out by the latest (2010) market share analysis, as diet drinks fall behind their non-diet equivalents (see <a href="http://www.beverage-digest.com/pdf/top-10_2011.pdf">Beverage-Digest</a>).&nbsp; This fact makes my metaphor even better.&nbsp; In full disclosure, I don't like diet colas.&nbsp; <br /><br />The Republicans repeat a couple of mistakes.&nbsp; First, unlike the Democratic party, the Republican party tends to select a presidential nominee according to "who's turn" it is.&nbsp; Call it the old-boys-network or whatever that you want to call it, but it never works.&nbsp; Sen. Dole, Pres. Ford, and Sen. McCain are all recent examples of this phenomena.&nbsp; It was their turn, I guess, to lose.&nbsp; The Democrats on the other hand, don't really seem to have that particular issue.&nbsp; One could argue that Sens Kerry and Gore were both examples of this, and yes, it apparently was their turn to lose too.<br /><br />The second, and related possibly, mistake that Republicans make is to run a Liberal-Lite.&nbsp; A Liberal-Lite candidate is a big government Republican who is socially "progressive" and eschews conservatism.&nbsp; These mistakes may be related in some way as each of the above listed Republican presidential candidates were all Liberal-Lite too.&nbsp; When Republicans run these against the Democratic Full-bore Liberal, they lose every time.&nbsp; Just like Coke beats Diet Coke; Pepsi beats Diet Pepsi; Liberal beats Liberal Lite.&nbsp;Merlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10079653687369399674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921787627768121602.post-27903573232687173002012-01-16T12:25:00.000-08:002012-01-16T12:25:38.092-08:00New Hampshire Primary Result : Conservatives Win!The most published (not popular or biggest) story of the 2012 New Hampshire primary is the Mitt Romney win.&nbsp; Yawn.&nbsp; An alternative proposal for the biggest story was that President Obama only received 80%; not so much (Pres. Bush only received 80% in 2004).&nbsp; The real story of the New Hampshire primary was that conservatives did better than 2008.<br /><br />Here are the 2008 Republican primary results: <br /><ul><li>McCain (37%)</li><li>Romney (31%)</li><li>Huckabee (11%)</li><li>Giuliani (9%)</li><li>Paul (8%)</li><li>Thompson (1%)</li><li>Hunter (1%)</li><li>Others (2%) </li></ul>&nbsp;In the 2012 primary, the results are: <br /><ul><li>Romney (39%)</li><li>Paul (23%)</li><li>Huntsman (17%)</li><li>Gingrich (9%)</li><li>Santorum (9%)</li><li>Perry (1%)</li><li>Bachmann (0%)</li><li>Others (2%)</li></ul>In 2008, the first four vote getters are all liberal Republicans gathering 88% of the vote.&nbsp; Frankly, given the views of McCain and Romney, I'm surprised that Romney only received 39% of the vote in 2012.&nbsp; Had the demographic and situation been the same, one would expect Romney to get all the same votes, plus the McCain votes.&nbsp; Huntsman appears to roughly get the votes of Huckabee and Giuliani.<br /><br />So what is the most striking difference in 2012?&nbsp; Ron Paul's increase from 8% to 23% has to be the most striking.&nbsp; However, there was still another 20% of the vote going to conservative voters.&nbsp; You could thus argue that approximately 43% of the vote went to conservatives in 2012 over the meager 10% from 2008.&nbsp;<br /><br />Let's face it, New Hampshire is not a bastion of conservatism.&nbsp; In 2000, Senator McCain received 49% and President Bush 30%.&nbsp; The 2012 election is reminiscent of 1996 election where conservatives led by Buchanan and Forbes.&nbsp; So for conservatives to received that much of the vote, makes for the biggest story of the 2012 New Hampshire primary.Merlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10079653687369399674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921787627768121602.post-48674335240855900802011-11-04T15:13:00.000-07:002011-11-04T15:13:52.382-07:00Stimulating the economy with campaigningPicking thought the mail today, I counted at least 5 pieces of nice laminated political mailings.&nbsp; With the election date next week, I'm sure there will be calls and more mailings over the weekend.&nbsp; Between this season and my experience within a campaign, I'm starting to wonder if maybe campaigning can stimulate the economy.<br /><br />Looking at a piece of literature, it may not be apparent, but there is a lot of work that goes behind it.&nbsp; Someone has to determine the verbiage, formatting and design of the piece.&nbsp; Pictures have to be taken (maybe not specifically for this piece, but at some point).&nbsp; Someone has to put it all together in a way that the printer can make the mailer.&nbsp; That's a lot of work and time behind all that.&nbsp; Of course, the glossiness of the mailer, the size, and the number of components all influence the cost of the mailer.&nbsp; The ones I got today, all top dollar!&nbsp; Finally, the post office gets the postage for each piece (okay, they get a bulk rate, but still have to pay).<br /><br />Just think if all these positions were unopposed.&nbsp; For instance, one of the local races is unopposed.&nbsp; I didn't get anything for that "race" nor do I expect to receive anything over the weekend.&nbsp; Suppose also that these campaigns didn't raise much money and couldn't do the mailer (my garbage would be lighter).&nbsp; In both of these circumstances, the economic activity is much smaller.<br /><br />Given the state of the economy, instead of suggesting, as the <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/27/north-carolina-governor-suggests-suspending-elections-to-spur-economic/">Governor of North Carolina</a> did, that we should suspend elections, maybe we should have them more often.&nbsp; Just think, if we could get this amount of economic activity every year instead of every other year.&nbsp; Wow!&nbsp; Then, if things don't improve, we could have 6 month terms, then 3 month terms ....<br /><br /><br />Merlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10079653687369399674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921787627768121602.post-23765390339866381942011-11-03T18:17:00.000-07:002011-11-03T18:17:32.085-07:00Libya may be the new AfganistanIn today's <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204394804577011721031265512.html?KEYWORDS=Libya">Wall Street Journal</a>, Paul Wolfowitz discussed the current situation in Libya and what opportunities the US has.&nbsp; In the course of reading this article, I started to wonder if perhaps Libya would at some point look similar to Afghanistan.<br /><br />Afghanistan is a country with lots of space between people.&nbsp; Because of it's location, and relative lack of strong sovereignty, the USSR, Taliban, Al-Qaeda,&nbsp; and arguably now the US has tried to control it.&nbsp; The people are very tribal and suspicious of other tribes and other countries.&nbsp; In the conflict with USSR, the tribes organized together and the US had a chance to eliminate some of the suspicion of the US.&nbsp; Unfortunately, the US backed out and confirmed the suspicions that they had.&nbsp; The tribes also reverted back to warring with each other.<br /><br />So now, the conflict is in Libya.&nbsp; It's also conveniently located, very tribal, with lots of open space.&nbsp; Mr. Wolfowitz discusses how the US didn't fully take advantage of the situation in order to eliminate doubts that people in that country would have about US support.&nbsp; One could argue that the US did everything to reinforce the unreliable tag.<br /><br />Libya doesn't have the same rugged terrain that symbolizes Afghanistan, but you can argue that what it does have can be just as brutal.&nbsp; Today, Libya's tribes seem to mostly have come together to fight a common enemy, but how long will that last.&nbsp; We've already sown the suspicion of the US into the "new" Libya, if the tribal coalition falls apart ....Merlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10079653687369399674noreply@blogger.com0